Buckle for cotton-ties.



L; 'W. SWAFFORD.

BUCKLE FOR COTTON TIES. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 8, 1910.

Patented Jam 3,1911.

THE NORRIS PETERS cm, wAsHmcrou, D. C.

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'LLEVI w. SWAFFORD, or vIoKsBIiRe, MI'ssIssIPrI, AssIGNoIt or ONE-HALF To BENJAMIN GRIFFITH, oFvIoKsBU'R'G, MISSISSIPPI.

BUCKLE FOR oo'rToN-TIE's.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 8, 1910.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

Serial No. 536,975.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Law \V. Swnrro'nn, of Vicksburg, in the county of \Va'rren and in the State of Mississippi, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Buckles for CottonTies, &c., and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, I

and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to buckles intended especially for the ties or bands of cotton bales, but suitable for other purposes, and the object of my invention is to provide a buckle possessing the characteristics of extreme simplicity, economy of manufacture, easy application, strength, and efliciency, and to such end my invention consists in the buckle constructed substantially as hereinafter specified and claimed.

Referring to the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cotton tie buckle embodying my invention, as it appears when in use, with the ends of the cotton tie or band secured thereto; Fig. 2 a similar view of the buckle alone, as it appears in readiness for the application of the tie or band.

To illustrate my invention, it will be sufficient to describe its adaptation to and embodiment in a buckle for ties for cotton bales, and this specification therefore will refer to this particular use of my invention, but it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to its use in any particular relation. The buckle shown in the drawings is formed of a single piece of wire so shaped or bent that it comprises an oblong loop 10 composed of two parallel sides connected at their ends by tie-engaging cross bars and having beyond each of said cross bars a smaller loop, one of which, 11, is closed on all four sides, and the other 12, is closed on all sides but one. The outer end 13 of the loop 12 is composed of one of the free ends of the piece of wire, and the wire is bent at right angles to form the closed side 14 of said loop, and is then bent or coiled to form an eye 15. From the eye 15 the wire is extended to form one of the side bars 101 of the loop 10, and is then bent at a right angle and carried over at 16 to the opposite side of the loop 10, when it is againv bent at a right angle to form one of the sides 17 of the closed loop 11. It is again bent at right angles to the side 17 to form the outer end I 110 of the closed loop 11, being accordingly carried parallel with the section 16 until it alines with the side bar 101 of the loop 10 toward which it is next bent, until it is contiguous to the section 16, whereupon it is again bent at right angles to provide a bar 111 that extends parallel with and contiguous to said section 16 to the opposite side 102 of the loop 10, said side 102 being formed by another bend, and at a point in alinement with the eye 15 the final or last bend is made to form the second end bar 19 of the loop 10, the end of said bar 19 being left free so that at will it may be sprung out of or into engagement with said eye. Preferably, the extremity of the end bar 19 is bent laterally, so that it will engage the side of the eye, and thus be prevented from accidental separation therefrom.

In applying the tie to my buckle, one end 20 of the tie is bent about the twosections 16 and 111, which form one end of the loop 10 and of the closed loop 11, the free portion of said end 20 being passed up through the loop, 11, and beyond the outer end 110 thereof, and lying beneath the overlapping portion of the tie, that thence extends around the bale of cotton. The other end portion 21 of the tie is similarly bent or doubled upon itself, and the tie-engaging cross bar 19 of the buckle being disengaged from the eye 15, the loop in the tie thus formed in the end portion 21 is slid upon said cross bar, and then by springing the side 102 of the cross bar 19 clears the eye 15 upon which it before rested, the free end of said cross bar 19 may be placed in position to enter the eye by the reaction of the spring, and thus the looped end portion 21 of the tie secured. Just as in the case of the other end portion 20 of the tie, the free end or extremity of the portion 21 lies beneath the doubled over portion of the tie, and botli pass above the outer cross bar of the loop 12. It will be seen that by this disposition of the free ends of the tie, not only is the security of the fastening enhanced by the friction obtained, but there are no protruding or exposed ends that are a source of danger to persons and property. The loop 10 has such length that it materially facilitates the application of the looped ends of the tie to the buckle; the doubling of the the loop 10 outward until the free end of Wire to form the two sections 16 and 111 which one of the tie bends engages, adds strength; and as the looped end 21 of the tie requires no looseness or slack in the tie for the application of said end portion 21 to the buckle, the bale when secured cannot expand as is the case with forms of buckles that require slack, and thus the shape and size of the bale are preserved.

hat I claim is 1. A buckle comprising side bars and a plurality of cross bars, forming a loop at each end, and an intermediate loop, the inner ones of said cross bars constituting tie engaging members, the cross bar between one of the end loops and the intermediate loop having a free end and being movable transversely to engage said free end with and disengage it from one of the side bars,

said side bar having means to engage said free end.

2. A buckle formed of Wire, comprising side bars and transverse bars forming a loop at each end, and an intermediate loop, the side bars being single, and one of the end loops having its inner tie-engaging side formed of doubled, parallel bars, and the other end loop having its transverse bar formed of the free end portions of the Wire, the inner free end portion having its extremity detachably interlocked with one of the side bars of the buckle.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

LEVI W. SVVAFFORD. lVit-nesses LOUIS ROTIISCHILD, F. G. SPEED. 

